Citation Nr: 0125333
Decision Date: 10/26/01 Archive Date: 10/29/01
DOCKET NO. 00-16 281A ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO)
in Montgomery, Alabama
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to a compensable rating for a right knee scar.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
G. Zills, Associate Counsel
REMAND
The veteran served on active duty from March 1971 to May
1973.
This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)
from a November 1999 RO decision which denied the veteran's
claim for a compensable rating for a right knee scar. He
failed to appear for a scheduled October 2000 RO hearing and
for a scheduled August 2001 Travel Board hearing.
The veteran's service connected right knee scar is a residual
of a laceration sustained in a November 1972 vehicle accident
in service. The scar has always been rated noncompensable.
He filed his current claim seeking a compensable rating in
November 1998, alleging an increase in the severity of the
condition. He identified various medical records, which the
RO obtained, but these did not pertain to the right knee
scar. The Board notes it has been many years since the
veteran has had a VA compensation examination for the right
knee scar. Given this and the veteran's allegations, a VA
examination should be provided as part of the VA's duty to
assist in developing the claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A (West
Supp. 2001); 66 Fed. Reg. 45,620, 45,630 (Aug. 29, 2001) (to
be codified as amended at 38 C.F.R. § 3.159).
Accordingly, the case is remanded for the following action:
1. The veteran should be afforded a VA
examination to determine the current
severity of his service-connected right
knee laceration scar. The claims folder
should be provided to and reviewed by the
examiner in conjunction with the
examination. The examiner should
indicate whether the right knee scar is
poorly nourished with repeated
ulceration, whether it is tender and
painful on objective examination, and
whether and to what degree it produces
limitation of function of the knee.
2. After the above development is
accomplished, the RO should review the
claim for a compensable rating for a
right knee scar. If the claim remains
denied, the veteran and his
representative should be provided with a
supplemental statement of the case, and
given an
opportunity to respond, before the case
is returned to the Board.
On remand, the veteran may submit additional evidence and
argument on the matter the Board has remanded to the RO.
Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet.App. 369 (1999).
L. W. TOBIN
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 2001), only a
decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to
the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This
remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not
constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your
appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2001).